The Cyclades: a circle of islands; a circle of civilization whose beginnings are lost in the mists of time, when the Ancient Cycladic peoples fashioned the first stone weapons, when the first marble idol was made, when their primitive boats traveled from island to island. There are thirty-four islands and an infinity of tiny rocky islets, remnants of geological upheavals in millennia gone by, pieces of a stony area in the middle of the Aegean. It was to here, the center of the circle, Delos, that Leto fled, pursued by a jealous Hera, to give birth to Zeus’s offspring, Artemis and Apollo. Thus Delos became the first sacred island, dedicated to the worship of Apollo, an important religious center, and the headquarters of the common Treasury of the Greeks. Its citizens did not take part in the wars of the neighbouring islands, which for many years respected the neutrality of Delos and its sacred character. And they filled it with works of art. Around it, each island constituted a separate state and wrote its own history. Milos traded its obsidian, that hard black stone, Paros its translucent marble, Serifos its copper, and Amorgos the marvelous weapons crafted by its inhabitants. These small islands saw the birth and death of whole civilizations. On the island that spawned the volcano, the first inhabitants of Santorini built cities that sank beneath the sea with the great eruption that changed the face of the Aegean, While on Kea the elders killed themselves during a siege so that the young would have more food. The years rolled by. On the island of Milos, beloved of Aphrodite, pirates stole out to sell their booty and Kea with the other islands was laid waste by Khaireddin Barbarossa. Still, the spirit of the Cyclades, their magical atmosphere, their unique art continued from age to age, from generation to generation. After thousands of years of history, the Cyclades are more beautiful than ever, surrounded by the blue Aegean, with their shady archways and their white houses, built in circles around the main square. What is it that made those simple islanders such great architects, such astute town planners? Perhaps they were inspired by their exceptional surroundings, the rocks and the sea, or perhaps they were imbued with the spirit of Apollo.
Greece Areas Tour
Kyklades
